The golfing world is starting to take notice of a 12-year-old Barrie girl who is putting up some impressive numbers.
Murray St. Onge has worked with some of the best young golfers in Canada and now he’s found his next prodigy in Shehna Akbary.
“I don’t think about it really, I just hit the ball,” says Shehna.
“She works harder than anybody else out there and you can really see it. She gets the results with how hard she wants it,” says St. Onge.
Since teaming up with St. Onge, Shehna’s won 11 of her first 12 tournaments, recently turning in a score card of 75 at Tangle Creek.
“My wife keeps asking me where she gets it from and I say she’s just very good at it. I watch her swing all of the time, in slow motion over and over again. I’m her biggest fan,” says Shehna’s father Mehdi.
Shehna first picked up a club when she was 6, practicing her swing every day in the backyard using little foam balls. She has outgrown her backyard as she now challenges the top teens in the province.
“I just like to play better and older players because it makes me better and it makes me want to work harder and beat them," adds Shehna.
“Everyday 5 a.m. she wakes me up and wants to go to practice. I just can’t believe how much she wants to plays,” says her dad.
“At a younger age, she’s better than Stephanie Sherlock was at 13, 14 and if she sticks with it and works hard every day she could be potentially a lot better,” adds St. Onge.
But Shehna knows there is always room for improvement.
“My short game, Murray says could be better so we’re working on it but I just love to hit that ball.”
Shehna will start grade seven next week and her goal on the golf course is to get her golf handicap down from a seven to a two.
